Chapter One     The Moose Family of Monroe County, Ohio

 

Family Trees on Ancestry.com (One World Tree)1,2,3, indicated that the Moose Family came from Germany to Pennsylvania. The original German name was most likely Mussgenug or Mussgnug with other modifications in spelling. On Ancestry.com, their opinion is that the Moose name was derived from Moos and this could be true in some instances. But nearly every Family Tree covering the Moose Family of Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina, states that it is derived from Mussgenug or Mussgnug. Some of these names were found in the Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Records and various family trees. Records of the Union Church in Lehigh County reveal the births of William and Daniel Mussgenug as the sons of Jacob and Elizabeth Hoffman6 Mussgenug. An “un-named” on-line Moose Family Tree7 source states that John Jacob Mussgnug and wife Elizabeth Hoffman had nine children, 7 boys and 2 girls. As mentioned on the Lehigh County Genealogical Site the births of William in 1777 and Daniel in 1783 are listed but none of those born in between, such as John Sr. born in 17786. Also there is a footnote in these records stating that Jacob Mussgenung of Whitehall Township married Elizabeth Hoffman, daughter of the late Martin Hoffman on 25 Feb 1766.

 

In the Records of the Egypt Reformed Church in Lehigh County there is the birth of Jacob Mussgenug on 29 Jan 1786. His parents were David and Anna Maria.

 

Beginning with John Moose Sr.9, 10

 

Investigation of John Moose Sr. and his children begins with comments by Monroe County Genealogist, Catherine F. Fedorchak, who wrote about John Moose Sr.9 in 1970. She stated that John Moose Sr. was in the war of 1812 and his grave marker is in one of the three Moose Ridge Cemeteries. John was stationed at Ft. Meigs* in Maumee, Ohio and after 3 or 4 months he was granted a leave for 20 to 30 days as he was not sure how much time would be required. While on leave he became ill and was shown in several muster sheets as AWOL. However, this was later resolved by written deposition by Thomas Floid (Floyd). This deposition was submitted along with a hand written leave of absence to the Auditor’s office in 1824 or 1825 so that John Sr. could collect back wages. John’s enlistment began on 13 Sept.1813 and ran for 6 months. He was a private under the command of Capt. John Howell in Col. John Delong’s regiment10.

 

The Woods-Bettridge Family Tree1 on Ancestry.com states that John Sr. was married twice. His first wife, Mary Ann, was the mother of Jacob, Joseph, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, John Jr., Sabina, Sarah and probably George.  His second wife Rachel was the mother of Henry H., Martha and Emily. Mary Ann is reported to have died in 1836. John died on 10 Aug 1841 and his wife Rachel died on 14 Feb 1846. A bill granting land to the soldiers of the War of 1812 was passed on 28 Sept 1850 after John Sr. had died. At this time John Moose Jr. had himself appointed as guardian of the minor children of John Sr. and Rachel in order to apply for benefits which were due them9.  The minor children were Henry, Martha and Emily2. These are supposedly the children of John and Rachel per Woods-Bettridge. John Moose Sr. was born in Lehigh County, Pa. on 16 Sep 1778 and died in Monroe County on 18 Mar 1842**.

 

*Fort Meigs, just outside of Maumee, Ohio and on the Maumee River, was named after the Govenor of Ohio and was a hub of the War of 1812 in the west. During the War of 1812, it was a prime target of a few British Regulars and the Ohio born Shawnee Leader, Tecumseh, and about 1000 Indians. Ft. Meigs was commanded by William Henry Harrison the future president of the United States. Towards the end of the war, W.H. Harrison and his troops chased the British and Indians into Canada and this is where Tecumseh was killed.

 

**As already mentioned, there still remains a degree of uncertainty as to whether John Moose Sr. is a direct ancestor of Clifford Moose or possibly a granduncle. Dick Moose’s opinion was also published in a book, ”Monroe County, Ohio Families”4. All on-line family trees state that George Moose was an older son of John Moose Senior. In the only census in which George Moose designated the birth place of his parents, the 1880 Federal Census, he stated that they were born in Virginia. John and Mary Ann Moose were believed to have been born in PA. This adds a further degree of uncertainty but George and his wife were in their seventies at that time and one can not be sure which one of them provided this birthplace information.

 

The first to immigrate to America was said to be Johan Jacob Mussnug (Mussgenug)1,2,3 in 1752 settling in eastern Pa. Later the name was apparently changed to Moose and portions of the family moved west to Ohio; south to North Carolina while some remained in Pennsylvania. John Sr. is the father of John Moose Jr. who lived on Moose Ridge Road in Monroe County.  As already mentioned he is said to be the father of George Moose, Clifford Moose’s Grandfather1,2,3,10. Attachments cover the Moose (Mussgenug) Family and the Life of John Moose Jr. Other names in the Moose line are Hess, Fuger and Hoffman. The maiden names of Mary Ann and Rachel, John Sr.’s wives, are not known.

 

 John Moose Sr. is considered by many to be the ancestor of the Moose Families who settled in Wayne Township, Monroe County and the Great-grandfather of Clifford Moose, however to the best of my knowledge, there is only strong circumstantial evidence concerning this relationship and no concrete proof has been found. I will present the all evidence for this conclusion in the following pages.

 

I have also been unable to find any records that make the clear connection between John Moose Sr. and Jacob Mussgenug. Several unknown sources on Ancestry.com’s, One World Tree, believe this relationship as well as the Herche, Harkey, Herge and Harcha Trees3 and Woods Bettridge1, all on Ancestry.com. John Moose Jr’s.Death Cert  and his brother Jacob’s  Death Cert list John Moose Sr. and Mary Ann as their parents. Unfortunately George’s parents are not listed on his Death Certification.

 

 

 

 

The Children of John Moose Sr.1 (Mary Ann and John Sr.)

 

                   Children:              Born

                        Joseph             12 Jan 1800 in MD

Elizabeth              1802 in Pa. Census data would indicate 1801 as the birth year.

                   George                 1 March 1804 in Greene Co., PA. or Virginia

                   John Jr*.             30 May 1806 in PA.

Jacob*                 23 Oct 1808 in Greene Co., PA.  Census states that he was born in VA11.

 Mary Ann           Abt 1814  Ohio

                    Sabina                 Abt 1820  Ohio

                    Sarah                  Abt 1819 Ohio   Census information

* Verified as brothers and sons of John Sr. and Mary Ann by Death Cert. Information   

An un-named site on Ancestry.com adds another child to the family of John and Mary Ann7. His name is Lewis. No birth date is listed. John Sr. and Rachel, his second wife, had three children.

 

Rachel and John Sr.7

 

                   Henry                            1836 in Ohio

                   Martha                          2 March 1838 in Ohio

                   Emily                             1841 in Ohio

 

In the 1820 Census of Wayne Township, Belmont County, John Moose is between the age of 25 and 45 and has one son 10-15 (Jacob, John Jr.), one son 16-18 (John Jr.or George), and one son 18-25 (Joseph). He has 3 daughters under 10, (Mary Ann, Sarah and Sabina), one female 18 to 26 (Elizabeth) and one female 25-45 (wife). This is apparently John Moose Sr. and one son is missing (George, 10-15 or 16-18?). There should be two sons 10-15. The three females under 10 are also not accounted for in the family tree on ancestry.com. One tree states that there were two daughters, Sabina and Sarah, and a son, Lewis but this is also not consistent with the 1820 census information. . From death certs we know that John Jr. and Jacob list their parents as John and Mary Ann. This could be considered evidence that George is not the son of John Moose Sr.

 

 Furthermore, Connie Koniski174 furnished the following information and theories from the 1830 census of Belmont County, Ohio to explain the George Moose Family.

 

1830 Census

Belmont Co. Wayne Twp. Ohio, George Moose Head

 

Males under 5 - 2  ( Unknown but proposed to be-Ithamer 1829 & Archimedes 1826)

Males 20 - 30 - 1 (George)      

Females under 5 - 1 (Proposed to be, Arthemia 1828)    

 Females 20 - 30 - 1 (Fits Martha)

This census tells us that George and Martha were married before 1830 and already had three children that are not accounted for but proposed to be as shown above.

 

1840 Census George Moose head

Belmont Co. Wayne Twp. Ohio

Males under 5 - 1 (Joseph born 1838)

Males 5 & under 10 - 1 (proposed to be, Jacob 1833)               

Males 10 & under 15 - 2 (proposed to b, Ithamer* & Archimedes*)                

Males 30 & under 40 - 1   (George)                

Females 5 & under 10 - 1 (Arsula (Ursula))       

Females 10 & under 15 - 1 (proposed to be Arthemia*) 

Females 30 & under 40 - 1 (Martha)

* These three children are possibly members of this family. They later appear in Monroe County or are found in Marriage Records of Belmont County.

 

 These census listings for George Moose for 1830 and 1840 show that it might be logical to assume that Ithamer, Archimedes and Arthemia were members of George’s family even though direct evidence has not been found. What we do know is that George Moose had six young people living with his family in 1840 and only two are accounted for in 1850. Around 1850 four possible young Moose family members, Jacob, Ithamer, Archimedes and Arthemia appear in Monroe County about the same time as George moved to this county.

 

Also, Connie Koniski174 cited Marriages recorded in “Belmont County Marriages 1803 – 1900”.

 

                                         Jacob Moose  - Elizabeth Peters   19 Mar 1858

                                         Iven W. Moose - (Mrs.) Belinda Williams   4 Jul 1858

                                         Isreal Moore - Elizabeth Moose   12 Jun 1821

                                         Joseph Moose - Sarah Creighton   29 Nov 1825

                                         Absolom Williams - Arthema Moose 5 May 1845

                                         Archimedes Moose - Sarah Awler 8 Feb 1848

 

In 1840 in Wayne Township in Belmont Co. John Moose ( John Sr.) has this family consistent with ages and names in later census results:

 

                                      One male under 5 (Henry H.)

                                      One male 5-10  (Lewis?)

                                      One male 60-70  (John Sr.)

                                      One female under 5 (Martha)

                                      One female 10-15 (?)

                                      One female 30-40  Rachel

 

However, in 1830 in Center Township, Monroe County, John Moose has the following Family

 

                                      One male  6- 10

                                      Two males 20-30

                                      One male 40-50

                                      Two females 10-15

                                      One female 40-50

 

In 1840 Wayne Belmont, Ohio   Joseph Moose has this family (proposed):

 

                                      One male under 5 (Amon)

One male 40-50 (Joseph)

                                       Two females under 5 (Rebecca and Pernina)

                                      Two females 5-10 (Elizabeth and Maria)

                                      Two females 10-15 (Mary and Sarah)

                                      One female 30-40 (Sarah)

 

 

In 1840 John Moose is in Center Township, Monroe County, has the following Family.

 

                                      Two males 6-10(not accounted for in 1850)

                                      One male 30-40(John Jr.)

                                      One female 30-40(Emily)*

* Daughter Emily Jane not accounted for in 1840.

 

In 1840 in Center Township, Monroe County, Jacab Moose has the following Family

 

                                      One Male 6-10 (Israel)

                                      One Male 30-40(Jacab)

Unaccounted for in 1840; Catherine (wife) 20-30 and Elizabeth and Emily (0-5)

 

From all of these data, I have found no concrete evidence that George Moose was the son of John Sr. Moose. In fact the one missing male 10-15 in John Sr.’s family in 1820 is puzzling.

We also seem to add circumstantial evidence which leads to the fact that there were several other members of George Moose’s Family that may have moved to Monroe County around the same time as George. However, several inconsistencies have been found in all of the members of the John Moose Sr. Family in the 1820-1840 censuses which might indicate that these censuses were more inaccurate then the following ones, 1850-1930.

 

The Death, Birth and Marriage Records of Monroe County are available through the Monroe County Genealogical Society in Woodsfield, Ohio. These were used and are referred to as references 12, 16 and 18. Some events that appear most likely to have taken place in Monroe County do not appear in these records. These names may not have been indexed and therefore a page by page search would need to be conducted. In the body of this history, it will be mentioned when a certain event could not be found in these records but that doesn’t mean that the event did not happen in Monroe County. 

 

For this history, I will assume that Geroge is the son of John Moose Sr., since he certainly is of the correct age to be a son of John Sr. He also appears in Belmont County in the same area as John Sr., and moved to the same area of Monroe county around the same time as the known sons of John Sr. Finally, I could not trace any other family that George could have been a member of that were located in the Belmont County of Monroe County areas.

 

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